The ethics of the snitch

By davidpetraitis, on November 10th, 2010

The New York Times Dealbook section reports today that the S.E.C. has published it’s rule on Dodd-Frank Whistle blowing.

The Dodd-Frank financial regulatory act makes that clear by requiring the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission to pay at least 10 percent, and as much as 30 percent, of any monetary penalties more than $1 million to those who provide “original information” about a violation of the law.

This will lead to approximately 30,000 reports to the SEC per year. The law makes whistle blowing a job security tactic. As the Times notes provisions in the law also make:

taking any steps to “discharge, demote, suspend, threaten, harass, directly or indirectly, or in any other manner discriminate against, a whistle-blower.” This protection will no doubt make life more complicated for companies because the protections afforded to whistle-blowers may effectively encourage more employees — some who are trying to protect their jobs — to file report as a way to keep their jobs.

This is strange ethics. And will lead to a culture where people expect the government to pay them for disclosing damning information on their employers, and perhaps in the future on their neighbors. A step in the direction of a snitch state.

1 comment to The ethics of the snitch

The Irish bailout, like the Greece bailout and the looming Portugal bailout, isn’t about saving the Irish people, it’s about preserving the privately-owned banking system that acts like a parasite on those same people. Soon there’ll be a Spanish bailout, perhaps French, German & UK bailouts too – when are people universally going to stand up and refuse to put up with this nonsense?